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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Having attended a lacrosse crazed private school filled withinsufferable Ravens and Pats fans, no matter who wins this game, weall lose.

The Texans were clearly the better team last weekend. Unfortunatelyfor Houston, TJ Yates happened on the way to the AFC Championship.Baltimore's offense looked stagnant and ineffective. Making mattersworse, Ed Reed suffered an ankle injury. Reed will certainly play,but how limited will he be? The Ravens defense without Reed is likeHarold Melvin without he Blue Notes. The Pats, on the other hand,decimated an overachieving Denver team. Lest we all forget, Denverwas left for dead. Pundits calling for Tebow rationalized the move byassuming the season was a lost cause. The Patriots won big against anovermatched team.

The Patriots will by virtue of Joe Flacco's ineptitude and misplacedsense of self worth. However, its close and the Ravens run the ballwell enough to keep Brady on the sidelines. Danny disagrees with mypick as he is a firm believer that in the NFL, during the post season,DEFENSE wins games...

Eric - BAL 20 NE 27Danny- BAL 24 NE 23

New York Giants +2 @ San Francisco 49ers

When did this Giants team turn into the '72 Dolphins? Humility hasgone the way of the Do-Do in New York. With shades of the 2007 team,New York is wildly impressive. They're a more evolved team. Theyhave a fantastic passing attack, great offensive guard play, thethreat of a running game, and they get after the passer with as manypeople as we've seen. That may not sound like evolution, but I arguedifferently. The running game provides a real threat. While it isn'tlikely they'll dominate (say 160+ yards), it's a real and dangerousthreat they may. This idea (the threat) is more important that whatactually occurs. It keeps teams honest and off balance and accountsfor a major portion of the opposition's preparation. Brandon Jacobssucks- most of the time- but the pendulum may swing wildly and he'llresemble Otis Anderson circa 1989. They're protection is fantastic upthe middle. Guards often go unheralded due to the attention placedupon tackles. The ability to protect allows a QB to feels safe andmove up in the pocket which helps to mitigate the opposition's outsiderushers (likely their best pass rush players). Defensively, theGiants sport a pass rush foursome that helps overcome seemingsecondary deficiencies. The secondary lacks an all star case, butwith the right pass rush they're more than competent. Given enoughtime with modern rules, even Deon Sanders wouldn't stand a chance.The Giants are an evolved team. Whether by accident or not, they'vehelped create a modern blueprint.

The 49er's are as old school as they come. The play defense well, runthe ball well, pass deep only on occasion and do not turn the ballover. It's a mix that will always keep you relevant. However, theylack a certain something offensively. I have enjoyed the resurgenceof the 49er's and the redemption of Alex Smith. If you'll recall,Smith became the de facto number 1 pick after Matt Lienart decided Godonly gives you so many years to enjoy sorority crush parties and wentback for his senior year. Smith was not ready for such pressure..Especially with a team that had zero stability and a dearth of talent. As much as I have enjoyed watching Smith, I am concerned how he willfare against this New York pass rush. Can Frank Gore take enough ofthe load off of Smith to allow a typical David Akers led win?Doubtful.

Danny on the other hand agrees with a lot of the above ink, but hestill believes in the 49ers defense. After beating the Saints lastweek with some big time plays from Alex Smith the 49ers get anotherhome game and they will be more than ready for this game thanks inlarge part to the SHOULD BE- Coach of the Year in Jim Harbaugh. Thisguy is a beast and has the 49ers rolling. They will create turnoversfrom INT-happy Eli Manning, but let's not forget the history of Jacobsand Bradshaw fumbling against good teams that force turnvovers. The49ers will play safe football causing this to be a close game andleave a side door open for Eli, but I just don't think he pulls itoff. Hell of a year for him, but the 49ers have been consistent allseason long and consistency is expected on Sunday.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Joe Flacco feels disrespected. As well he should, because few respecthim at the level they do Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the elite. WhenBaltimore swoons, its largely due to Flacco. This week, the Ravenswill host a rookie QB with no business starting a playoff game in oneof the few hostile environments left in the NFL.

This week Flacco faces the number two defense in the NFL and ifHouston somehow finds an early lead, the pressure will mount.Baltimore seems to stumble when playing from behind. Unfortunately,TJ Yates is the quarterback. As well as Arian Foster continues toplay, he can't do this alone. Andre Johnson came back strong lastweek and looked frisky giving hope to the Texans's cause. The Texanswill give Baltimore a scare but Houston will remember 2011 as the"What If?" year.

Eric: HOU 17 BAL 24Danny: HOU 10 BALT 27

New York Giants +7.5 @ Green Bay Packers

The Giants are riding a high and ferocious wave of confidence headingto Green Bay. They carry themselves with the look misplacedaccomplishment. In the previous two weeks they dispatched a terribleDallas team and a poorly coached Falcons one. It feels an awful lotlike 2007 again. The Giants passing game morphed into a much moredangerous beast after the re-emergence of its running attack. Eli ison the cusp of elite status after keeping the Giants afloat during atime when the Giants sported no running game and a host of defensiveinjuries. Eli and company will give the Packers all they can handle.

Can the pass rush get to Rodgers before he unleashes his communistpassing attack? Early in Rodgers tenure, he took a beating and stillperformed. Rodgers will hang in the pocket and take his licks. Inall of the record breaking hoopla, many of us forgot about theinsanely efficient play of Rodgers. The loss of a key planner on thecoaching staff will not hurt the game plan but it does take away fromthe routine of preparation. The Giants momentum and the off fielddistractions will take away from the performance but not enough tocede the victory to New York.

Eric: NYG 24 GB 30Danny: NYG 27 GB 38

Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots -13.5

In a perfect world, Tim Tebow would win the Super Bowl MVP and turnheel like some sort of WWE wrestler, body slam Rodger Goodell, go on arant disparaging the city of Indianapolis and dye his stubble black ala Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Alas, the world is not perfect and cheatersprosper. New England wins running away.

Drew Brees is playing at too high of a level to be stopped. Eventhough he is on the road going against arguably the best defense inthe league, I think the Saints touchdowns will beat the 49ers fieldgoals.

The public has moved this line up 1 point in favor of the Texans whichis shocking to me. The Texans are banged up and have Yates andDelhomme as their quarterback options. Andy Dalton has been testedall season, as has the Bengals defense, and they have made it to thepost season. Look for Scott and Benson to get a lot of touches to tryand find seems in the Texans stout defensive front seven. Utilizingthe running game to open up the play action pass attack as well as thewell-known quick passes from Dalton, the Bengals have a greatopportunity to upset a very hungry Texans franchise for a playoff win. I don't trust the Texans quarterback situation and I know bothdefenses will keep this game close.

ERIC'S PICK: CIN 16 HOU 21

DANNY'S PICK: CIN 17 HOU 16

SATURDAY 8:00PM

Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints -10.5

It is extremely hard to bet against Drew Brees. Now throw in a homegame and its even harder to bet against him. Eric likes the Saints by8, but I think this game will be closer. Brees ultimately will get itdone, but Stafford and his receiving corps are too efficient not tokeep this game within reach. It comes down to the Lions defensemaking plays and creating turnovers. Looking back at last years lossin Seattle, Brees was hit on basically every drop back and their thirddown conversion rate was horrible. Playing in front of a hyped uphome town crowd I do not believe Brees will be one and out again.Statistically, Brees is the best quarterback in the NFL this season.Rodgers has been simply amazing winning 20 of his last 21 (Flynnstarted 2 of the past 23 (1-1)). Stafford throws touchdown passes,but he is not as safe with the ball as Brees. Brees gets this win andmoves on to San Francisco next weekend.

ERIC'S PICK: DET 30 NO 38

DANNY'S PICK: DET 30 NO 35

SUNDAY 1:00PM

Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants -3

Are the Giants for real or simply the beneficiaries of playing anincompetent Dallas secondary twice in the closing weeks of the season? Victor Cruz and Jason Pierre-Paul represent two of the biggestbreakout stars of the 2011 season. Cruz and Nicks present massiveheadaches for any opposing secondary and while his numbers went waydown, running back Ahmad Bradshaw still finds his way into the endzone.

The Falcons played as consistent as a team could throughout theseason. They rarely appeared great but never terrible. I don't feelthey have enough upside potential to dominate teams and the Giantscontinue to demonstrate teams cannot allow them to hang around. JulioJones and Roddy white should have little trouble finding openings inthe New York Secondary and while not the force of nature he once was,Tony Gonzalez remains a viable red zone threat. The Giants hold thepotential to dominate the line of scrimmage and make big plays onoffense. They appear to have momentum and confidence coming into theplayoffs. The Packers snuck in last year and went all the way as didmany of these Giants a few years ago. Until the confidence waivers,I'll ride New York while Danny is on the other side with MATTY ICE.

ERIC'S PICK: ATL 24 NYG 28

DANNY'S PICK: ATL 27 NYG 24

SUNDAY 4:30PM

Pittsburgh -8 @ Denver

ERIC - With the bloom officially off the Tebow rose in Denver, veryfew feel the Broncos can muster any sort of magic to prevail over theSteelers. Despite injuries to Mendenhall and Roethlisberger, theSteelers remain heavy favorites. Defense and a power running attackfueled Denver's mid-season surge. Since then, running back WillisMcGahee began to show his age and star linebacker Von Miller suffereda lingering thumb injury. This placed more pressure on Tebow, orperhaps the Divine, to engineer unlikely wins. Tebow's receiverscannot seem to find any separation or threaten teams down field whichallowed defenses to key in on Denver's quirky run-heavy offense.While there's nothing more in this world I'd like to see more thanTebow trucking James Harrison in Mile High for the go ahead touchdown,it is a bridge too far. Pittsburgh will struggle offensively but itwill not take much to win this one. If God is in fact on Tebow'sside, I doubt he'd provide any divine intervention for a backdoorcover.

DANNY - I see this game as a huge opportunity for Denver. Teams havefigured Tebow and the Bronco's offense out, but have the Bronco'sfigured that out as well so will they develop a new game plan for theSteelers. I will assume John Fox is a smart man and will break outsome new schemes that the Steelers haven't scene on film yet. Tebowshould not be throwing the ball 25+ times in this game. McGahee andBall should run it 35-45 times and hopefully find some creases in theSteelers defense. Where Tebow has to be effective is with theplayaction pass game, and I believe he will. Decker, Royal, andThomas will get open on the Steelers defense as they will be inpress-man coverage probably 95% of the game. The Steelers are bangedup on both sides of the ball. Pouncey has been ruled out, Big Ben'sankle is lingering and that is bad for his style of play going againstthe Broncos premier pass rushers in front of the Denver faithful.Everyone in Vegas and the Media is betting against Tebow, and that isexactly why my money is on Denver. Take the points and I am goingwith the money line +325. Tebow OUTRIGHT!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Detroit finds itself on the cusp of the playoffs and a likely trip tomeet the NFC East division winner. Green Bay will have little reasonto risk any players of significance but those that do play will givethe Lambeau faithful a reason to cheer. Matt Flynn looked impressivein spot duty when called upon to fill in for Rodgers. This gamepresents a good opportunity to engender himself to team's in need of aquarterback and some hope. This game will come down to the wire.

Eric: DET 30 GB 27Danny: DET 27 GB 20

Dallas @ New York Giants -3

"Past performance is no guarantee of future results" is a commonstatement found in the fine print in almost any investment vehicle'sliterature. This sort of disclaimer runs in the face of anyinvestment prospectus data. Open one up and almost everything you seelists performance results over specified times periods and usuallycomparisons to similar options. Dallas's past performance undersimilar conditions gives cause for concern. Concern that borders onoutright pandemonium.

The keys to victory appear identical for both teams. Both teamsrequire pressure on the quarterback to assist their under-staffedsecondaries. Neither team's secondary can hold its own against theopposing receivers. Jason Pierre-Paul played like an all-pro over theprevious three weeks and Dallas left tackle Doug Free cannot seem tohold his own with any sort of consistency since th team moved craftyveteran Kyle Kosier to the right side of the line to aid thedevelopment of Tyron Smith. Dallas lost starting left guard MontraeHolland to a torn bicep last week and it appears Derrick Dockery willget the start in his place. Simply stated, the Giants have a clearerpath to victory, Dallas collapse-demons aside. Weak blind sideprotection combined with a badly swollen throwing hand which limitsgrip strength gives major cause for concern in Dallas. Romo continuesto play well in spite of poor protection and a spotty running game.He will put up some points but I cannot shake the feeling that theGiants are going to keep him under duress and in pain most of thenight. Dallas isn't deep enough to overcome injuries and the coachingstaff cannot compensate for the lack of depth and talent in certainpositions. Giants roll.

Eric: DAL 13 NYG 30Danny: DAL 24 NYG 30

San Francisco @ St. Louis +10.5

Kellen Clemens outplayed Sam Bradford in his limited opportunitiesthis season and it appears the Rams may end up with the number onepick in the draft. I am not suggesting the Rams give up on Bradford.However, it is likely the Rams will install a new coaching staff andlook to start the rebuilding process over yet again. Choosing theRams to cover does not indicate a feeling of confidence in this Ramsteam but a lack of faith in the 49ers ability to blow teams out.

The 49ers reached 30 points in a game just twice this season. Thelast 30 point plus game occurred in early October against the woefulBucs. The 49ers simply lack the offensive firepower to blow teamsout.

Eric: SF 24 STL 17***************LockDanny: SF 26 STL 10

New York Jets @ Miami -3

The Dolphins continue to impress and the Jets to disappoint. JasonTaylor announced this game will be his last and Tomlinson indicated itmight also be his final game. The Jets still hold an outside shot atthe playoffs but the Jets defense no longer scares anyone and theoffense is slow and prodding. I blame Rex Ryan for Rob Ryan. If Ryanwould not have overachieved these past two years his twin may still betooling around with the Cleveland Browns instead of running thedefense for the Cowboys. The Jets front office needs to get this teamyounger and faster. They also need to consider the possibility ofbringing in someone to challenge Mark Sanchez and not a 60-year-oldMark Brunell whose only reason to stave off retirement is to pay offbad debts. The Dolphins may not have a chance at the playoffs, butthey're the better team in this matchup.

Eric: NYJ 20 MIA 24Danny: NYJ 17 MIA 23************Lock

Chicago @ Minnesota -2

Josh McCown makes his triumphant return as will Chris Berman'sobligatory Josh "Tears of" McCown joke. A 1967 Motown song thatreferences Pagliac, no wonder Berman's such a hit with the kids.

Eric: CHI 10 MINN 17Danny: CHI 17 MINN 20

Buffalo +11 @ New England

We've come an awfully long way since the Bills defeated the Patriotsin week 3. Back then the Bills were 3-0 and offensively unstoppable.14 weeks and a 59 million dollar contract mistake extension later, theBills are back to being the Bills. Fortunately, CJ Spiller continuesto impress as the primary running back. The Patriots have troublestopping anyone defensively so look for a competitive game and theBills to give the Pats a slight scare.

Eric: BUF 30 NE 34Danny: BUF 30 NE 35

Carolina @ New Orleans -7

Will Drew Brees play in the 2nd half when Payton sees the 49ersdominating the Rams on the scoreboard? Not worth it risking Brees'shealth for the #2 seed that the 49ers will lock up Sunday.

Eric: CAR 24 NO 34Danny: CAR 31 NO 27

Washington +9 @ Philadelphia

Meaningless NFC East game could make for a lot of points. However,both coaches are on the hot seat. And even though I think both oftheir jobs are safe, I think a bad performance from either team wouldturn into very negative media attention that neither coach wants tohave to deal with (on top of the current load they are dealing with).Expect both teams to play hard today.

Eric: WASH 17 PHI 20**********LockDanny: WASH 20 PHI 31

Indianapolis +4 @ Jacksonville

It will be a much more interesting off season if the Colts lose andwind up with the number 1 pick.

Eric: INDY 20 JAX 21Danny: INDY 16 JAX 24

Tennessee -1.5 @ Houston

Houston won't take a three game skid into the playoffs. They will runthe ball all afternoon and head into the playoffs with a nice winunder their belts.

Eric: TENN 21 HOU 23Danny: TENN 17 HOU 24*******Lock

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta -11 1/2

Atlanta is stuck in the #6 seed if Detroit wins. Chris Redman willsee a lot of game action if this is the case, so expect a closer game.

Eric: TB 13 ATL 27Danny: TB 24 ATL 20

Baltimore -2 @ Cincinnati

Everyone and their mother is picking against the Bengals. This is asolid public fade, take the red head.

Eric: BAL 27 CIN 21Danny: BAL 16 CIN 20

Pittsburgh -6.5 @ Cleveland

Big Ben wants to take some reps in the first half. Some of theSteelers defensive starters will get some time off in the second halfas well. I expect the Browns to give the Steelers a big time fight ina meaningless game.

Eric: PITT 24 CLE 7Danny: PITT 17 CLE 13

Kansas City +3 @ Denver

Tebow-time. Huge game in Denver. Matt Prater's foot will seal thedeal in the 4th quarter. I believe Tebow will have his guys playingat a higher level on Sunday.

Eric: KC 7 DEN 10Danny: KC 13 DEN 23

San Diego @ Oakland -3

Is Darren McFadden ever playing football again? I see Norv Turnergoing out on a high note. Again, a solid public fade taking SD here.

Eric: SD 20 OAK 24Danny: SD 24 OAK 20

Seattle -3 @ Arizona

Jackson vs Skelton on Sunday. Kolb was a waste of money for Arizona.The defense of Seattle is too strong for this Cardinals offense. EarlThomas will shadow over Fitz all day. Seattle should win this gameconvincingly.